WhatsApp: For Smarter Business Model

WhatsApp is an innovative messaging company that operates at the core of digital revolution. The company comes in at a time when wireless companies have been collecting too much for what is supposed to be a free service. WhatsApp understands that to be scalable, the company cannot give away what others are selling. WhatsApp has devised a better business model.

WhatsApp allows users to use its service for free for one year. By the second year, the company begins to collect the necessary fees. Although there are a lot of free services around, WhatsApp is different because it is clean and uncluttered, unlike other apps that are filled with One Direction ads and virtual stickers.

There are about 400 million WhatsApp users today. The numbers keeps on adding 50 million users every quarter. Recently, WhatsApp has opened its platform to developers to allows users to share contents and music in the app.

Attention Female Engineers: Take a Look at GoldieBlox

 In our world where math, science, engineering and technology are dominated by men, girls get easily disinterested in these disciplines once they reach the age of eight. Something has to be done decisively, otherwise girls fail to tap their potentials. Innovative company GoldieBlox has recognized the need for girls to enjoy a level playing field, GoldieBlox leverages on girls’ strong verbal skills and its construction set to increase confidence in spatial skills while these young girls enjoy the tools necessary to create and build amazing things.

For hundreds of years past, construction toys have been considered as “boys’ toys.” But GoldieBlox is determined to change this equation. GoldieBox designs a new breed of construction toys from a woman’s point of view hoping to inspire the future generation of female engineers. Millions of female engineers around the world should know of this shift. And GoldieBlox is willing to show the way

GoldieBlox was founded by Debbie Sterling, a mechanical engineer. Sterling grew up in Rhode Island and was exposed to engineering when she was in high school. Her math teacher encouraged her to pursue engineering in college. She went to Stanford and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and product design.

While in Stanford, Sterling noticed that only a few women were enrolled in her program. Sterling became very obsessed to disrupt the pink aisle by creating toy that would introduce young girls to the joy of engineering. Sterling founded GoldieBlox in 2012. Within four days after opening, GoldieBlox was crowdfunded on Kickstarter.

The toys produced by GoldieBlox are tilted toward verbal and spatial skills. GoldieBlox creates a balance between the constructions that are marketed towards boys. Sterling named the company GoldieBlox; a name inspired the smart girl named “Goldie” who was created by Sterling and was featured in the book that comes along with the construction toys. The users of the toys will help Goldie solve problems by building things. GoldieBlox toys are available in major toy stores like Toys ‘R’ Us and Target.

Flipboard: Where Sharing is Caring

Flipboard is one of the world’s leading content aggregators. After releasing its 2.0 version in March 2013, Flipboard has transformed content aggregation to provide a service that creates personalized magazines from all sources in the internet. Today, Flipboard’s 2.0 version has average daily users of 200,000. Its magazine format is compatible with Windows 8, Blackberry 10, Android and iOS operating systems.

Because of its successes, Flipboard was dragged into controversy with the political site Talking Points Memo. At that time, Flipboard was working on a sharing partnership with Condé Nast and Time Inc. In the plan, Flipboard will integrate shoppable catalogs in its platform. But in Talking Points Memo’s accusation, Flipboard’s move would rip small publishers. In his defense, Flipboard CEO Mike McCue announced that plans to accommodate revenue-sharing plans with independent players are already on the way. According to McCue, if Flipboard cannot make these publishers successful, then it doesn’t deserve to win.

Flipboard is a production of Flipboard Inc. Its headquarters are located in Palo Alto, California.

The Legaspi Company: Flexibility in Business and International Appeal

The Legaspi Company is a full service commercial and investment real estate development and brokerage company. With special focus on retail projects, The Legaspi Company is known for its aggressiveness on identifying and capitalizing on untapped opportunities. The company is quick to recognize the changes caused by demographic changes and market trend; two of the most potent creators of real estate opportunities. This is the reputation that attracted investors, retailers and developers to look to The Legaspi Company for assistance for planning their expansions and developments, selecting sites, and negotiating sales and lease activities. The Legaspi Company is also the choice of government agencies and municipalities re-positioning to maximize community services.

Through the years, The Legaspi Company has built a strong foundation anchored on its marketing orientation. The Legaspi Company recognizes the unique characteristics and marketing requirements of each real estate site according to its merits. It is the company’s choice to help educate and work with investors, retailers, developers and tenants. The Legaspi Company is a reflection of the diversity in California’s market, especially that the company has strong relationship with the minority groups, which allows The Legaspi Company to break through cultural barriers that confront brokers and developers.

Many industry players have associated The Legaspi Company with Southern California ethnic markets, especially the Hispanic market, the company expertise is not limited to such markets.The Legaspi Company implements full service that covers the broad spectrum of US Latin American and Asian clients in a wide variety of projects.

The Legaspi Company has arguably the most extensive experience in the real estate markets of California. This allows the company to deal with the complex urban environment and the international arena with the tools and resources that contribute to the success of the real estate development in the competitive real estate market of Southern California and the rest of the world.

Luvo: The First Choice in Healthy Foods

Steve Sidwell was going through the frozen-food corner of a grocery store, hoping to find healthy meals. To his frustration, Sidwell found only food stuffed with salt and preservatives. Motivated, Sidwell created his own high quality and healthy food line. He founded Luvo.

Luvo boasts of nutrient-dense frozen foods, each containing no more than 500 milligrams of sodium or 500 calories. These entrées can be heated evenly because they are packed in patented fully recyclable paper pouch. It is Luvo’s commitment to source the only all-natural hormone-free animals for meat and poultry-based meals. Luvo is bringing  nutritious and healthy Americans. In 2013, Luvo distributed more than 50,000 meals to food banks throughout the US.

CEO Christine Day said that Luvo continues to expand its footprints in 2014. From 100 stores in California last year, Luvo has close to 6,000 stores in the US today. This demonstrates how well received Luvo’s fresh and delicious meals are.

Mary Ching: Creating a Global Luxury Brand through a Remix of Italian, British and Chinese Fashion

Chinese fashion icon Alison Mary Ching Yeung has a flamboyant taste. It is fortunate that her tastes have coincided with increasing demand in Chinese upper class to look for looks that stand out. Yeung fashion philosophy revolves around ‘contradictions and tensions” and this is seen in her black lace-up boots, leopard-print slippers and red stilettos.

Yeung established Mary Ching in 2009. Prior to her company, Yeung lived in the UK where she worked for a private equity firm. Her job required her to travel a lot and her experiences helped her to fuse different national symbols and identities into the Mary Ching brand. For instance, last fall, Mary Ching launched the Chinese Whisper, a luxury leather shoes which Mary Ching designed in Shanghai but manufactured in Italy. Chinese Whisper is snatched up by Chinese fashionistas and by Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Mary Ching’s simple mission is to redefine what “Made in China” means. Beginning with a cashmere footwear adorned with Chinese motif, which eventually became Mary Ching’s bestseller, “Made in China” will cease from connoting poorly made and cheap stuff to a global icon of luxury.

Slowly, Mary Ching became a known brand of opulent items. With “Forbidden Opulence” as its main business concept, Mary Ching targets the women with provocative and elegant taste for luxury products. Most of Mary Ching clients are independent women belonging to Asia Pacific families who grew up within traditional family values. Mary Ching challenges these boundaries to give these women a new level of independence.The new trends of stilettos and cashmere shoes empowers women.

Mary Ching has been successful in becoming one of the most talked about brands in the Chinese luxury fashion circles. It has gained a reputation for playful designs and editorial acclaim through its celebrity endorsements. Since 2009 when mary Ching was established, the company has gained traction in changing the world view concerning Chinese craftsmanship.

Aside from Mary Ching boutiques and independent retailers, its products are also available in the leading five-star hotels and online.

Safety and Excellence in Cajun Industries

Cajun Industries Inc. was founded by Lane Grigsby in 1973 to utilize his experience in heavy civil and industrial phases of the construction industry. To date, Cajun Industries has completed nearly $2 billion contracts, thanks to its wide range of services – concrete foundations, construction management, deep foundations, design-build, flood protection systems and control structures, mechanical equipment and piping, maintenance, site work, structural concrete, and turnarounds.

Cajun has an arsenal of heavy equipment fit for undertaking heavy and complex projects, as well as skilled personnel capable of handling these pieces of equipment. Cajun Industries’ project managers are adept in their field, always ready to face challenges that lie ahead with integrity and skill. In 2012, Cajun Industries was awarded the ABC Contractor of the Year for its “commitment to safety and excellence”. In the previous years, Cajun Industries has also earned various safety and excellence awards.  After all, excellence is measured not just by the quality of materials and build but the safety of the workers and clients as well.

TJX Companies and Its Steady Growth

The TJX Companies is the largest off-price department store chain for home fashions and international apparel in the US. Founded in 1956, the TJX Companies started out as the Zayre discount department store chain. When Zayre sold its own nameplate to a rival discount department store chain, it renamed itself to The TJX Companies, Inc. 

Today, the company ranked 125^th in the Fortune 500 list, with more than $23 billion in revenues in 2011 and nearly 3,000 stores in six countries around the globe. The TJX Companies is made up of four main divisions: The Marmaxx Group (also known as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls) and HomeGoods in the United States, TJX Canada (HomeSense, Winners, and Marshalls), and TJX Europe (T.J. Maxx and HomeSense. In 2012, the company welcomed the inclusion of the off-price internet retailer Sierra Trading Post into its fold.

Throughout the company’s history, The TJX Companies have steadily enjoyed growth, making some of the highest possible returns on investments in the retail industry. The company was not immune to slips along the way but it only notes one year of significant decline in store sales. The company is very flexible and it is this flexibility that the TJX Companies attributes to its success in weathering through various business and economic cycles. 

With inventories turning rapidly, the company is able to buy as close as possible to need while applying current trends in fashion and pricing. This means everything is always new and fresh and current and that’s what works for a lot of the customers supporting The TJX Companies. Of course, the company may not have been able to pull off what it has achieved without great relationships with more than 15,000 vendors across over 60 countries in the world. That, and the financial strength to bolster growth and keep shareholders happy.